Improving adoption of technologies and interventions for increasing supply of quality livestock feed in low- and middle-income countries

Abstract

The global increase in the demand for and production of animal-source foods (four-to five-fold increase between 1960 and 2015), which has been mostly concentrated in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), provides smallholder livestock producers with an opportunity for improving their livelihoods and food and nutrition security. However, across livestock production systems in many LMIC, limited supplies and high cost of good quality feed severely constrains exploitation of this opportunity. In many of such countries, feeds and feeding-related issues are often ranked as the primary constraint to livestock production and increased consumption of animal-source foods. Here we review the complex biophysical, socio-economic and technological challenges related to improving quality feed supply and the reasons for generally low adoption of apparently proven feed enhancement technologies. We describe also successful interventions and conclude by recommending strategies for improving quality feed supply in LMIC that account for and overcome the prevailing challenges.

Livestock sustainability research in Africa with a focus on the environment

“…In most small-scale production systems in Africa, animals are fed whatever is available to fill their rumen, without due consideration to the feed quality and animal requirement ( Balehegn et al, 2020 ). Balancing the ration in dairy cows has been reported to reduce emission intensity of milk by 13.5%, and gross energy loss through CH 4 by 10.3% ( Garg et al, 2013 ).…”

Potentials of Wood, Bamboo and Natural Fibre-Reinforced Composite Products as Substitute Materials for Fabricating Affordable Agricultural Equipment and Processing Machines in Africa

“…• Institutional and policy barriers: In many countries, institutional and policy barriers limit the adoption of technically superior technologies. There has to be a radical departure from the conventional approach which focuses on household characteristics that predispose farmers to technology adoption without taking into account the value chain level or institutional factors and national or regional policy issues that hinder technology adoption, entrepreneurship and commercialisation [45].…”

Feed biomass production may not be sufficient to support emerging livestock demand: Model projections to 2050 in Southern Africa

“…Instead, we assess the extent to which feed is available relative to the livestock numbers and how this is more constrained (or loosened) in the year 2050 compared to the year 2010. As feed constraints are already considered binding for many countries and production systems in the region (15), this may be a reasonable criterion. A simple 'feed sufficiency' indicator was thus developed that measures in any year the ratio of the amounts of feed produced to the amounts of feed needed, calculated based on the total numbers of livestock animals (summed up by species).…”

“…Nonetheless, there may be a strong case for increasing, rather than decreasing, animal source food consumption in some regions such as Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa where access and consumption are low and increased supply of animal protein is expected to improve nutritional outcomes (11)(12) (13). Natural resource constraints, however, limit the expansion of livestock production in such areas (14), with scarcity of feed sources being a foremost constraint to production (15).…”